Remember when Chicago Top Agent Magazine called Ream Masoud one of the top agents back in 2015 for…read moreher "honesty, integrity, and creativity"? Yeah, apparently that was a long time ago--because my recent experience makes me wonder if they should consider taking that one back. I rented a house from Ream and her company, Dream Realty Services, for two years. Everything was fine until the end, when she told me she didn't want to renew the lease. Fair enough--I appreciated the heads-up. We agreed I'd move out by June 30, 2025. She also told me a new lease would begin on July 1. We agreed on an exact day and time for the move-out inspection and key handover: Sunday, June 29, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. So what did my family and I do? We drove an hour from our new place, spent hours deep-cleaning the house in 90-degree heat--scrubbing the fridge, oven, bathroom, everything. When I messaged Ream that we were ready, she casually replied she wasn't available. "How about tomorrow?" Seriously? We held up our end of the agreement--she just... didn't show. No explanation, no solution. I waited for hours with no guidance on what to do with the keys. So I did the responsible thing: I filmed the whole place (which looked great), left the keys on the kitchen counter, locked up, and left. Later that night, Ream messaged saying she didn't have keys to get in. You'd think a landlord would, you know, have keys to her own property? I even suggested going through an open window--seriously, it was easier than this nonsense. She said she'd "check" if she had keys somewhere. Honestly, you can't make this stuff up. Fast forward ten days--yes, ten--on July 8, she messages to say the dryer isn't drying and the fridge isn't cooling. I told her both were working fine when we left (we literally used the dryer on move-out day), and as for the fridge, I'd reported issues months earlier. She sent someone who basically did nothing, so we just lived with it, knowing we were moving. Now, somehow, it's my fault that the fridge allegedly failed--after we moved out, after new tenants supposedly moved in. Am I going to be blamed for a burnt-out light bulb next month? To make things worse: today is July 29, the 30th day since I moved out, and she has still not returned my security deposit--or even provided an itemized list of deductions as required by Cook County law. That's not just shady, it's illegal. She's in clear violation of the Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance (RTLO). Even if you're buying--not renting--why put your money in the hands of someone who doesn't honor basic legal obligations or contracts? It's clear she plans to withhold my deposit over this made-up drama. After two full years of trouble-free tenancy, this is how it ends. I'm more than ready to take every step necessary to recover what I'm owed. "Honesty and integrity"? Not in my experience. I can't recommend Ream Masoud or Dream Realty to anyone who expects fairness, professionalism, or lawful treatment. Dream Realty? More like Nightmare Realty.

Was a Top notch pleasure working with Ream in getting our first home in Lombard Illinois we are…read moreblessed truly All praises and thanks to God for this blessing us not just to get our first home but to be taken care by one of the most congenial honest and hard working People Ream our Real Estate Agent and more than a Friend person did an extraordinary tremendous everything. We definitely recommend her to everyone and will work with her again for our future second Home God Willing Thanks Ream Thanks for everything God Bless.

Many thanks to Nataliia! For helping me to find my new home! She is a real professional! Was Always…read morein contact with me 24/7 ready to answer all of my questions! I would also like to thank Natalia for helping me with all the paperwork because I am new to America and didn't know anything. She guided me from the start. Very responsible listened my individual request. We are very happy in our new home!

My partner and I have been planning a move from Washington D.C. to Chicago. Nataliia helped us find…read morethe PERFECT apartment in Chicago. A cross country move is stressful but working with Nataliia took a lot of our stress away. Nataliia is extremely professional and an incredible broker. She always communicated relevant information for showings and made sure we had all we needed to make our decision. She was incredibly patient with us as we tried to find a place that checked all of our boxes. She was also extremely flexible in scheduling showings for us when we were in town. On top of all of her professional qualifications she is an extremely kind and wonderful human to work with. I highly recommend working with Nataliia if you are looking to move to/in Chicago! She's simply the best and we can't thank her enough for all of her help and support during this process! Thank you Nataliia! You will be hearing from us again when we are ready for our next move With appreciation, Jess

Hands down, best realtor EVER. Not only did she help us find our home moving during covid,…read more(jeremy's review from 2020) But then helped us sell that same home as we are moving out of state soon. She was able to help us sell our home for the highest sale in neighborhood history. Everything from staging, cleaning, utilizing her own decor from her house if needed, letting our dog out, open house, negotiating. Effortless for her. You will not regret choosing Laura! She will be honest, set realistic expectations, and be your advocate all the way through.

It was around February 2020 when me and my wife decided on buying our own dream home. We were…read moreapprehensive and had absolutely no idea of how to go about doing it but we needed to start somewhere.I believe home buying could be very stressful process especially for a first time home buyer. I thought Google would be a nice place to start to look for a realtor who could help us find our next dwelling. I did my search online to look for a firm with a proven track record, good ratings & testimonials and who could understand what we exactly were looking within the location of our choosing and of course, keeping it under our budget!! And then the pandemic struck the US to make the whole process a lot harder. We weren't sure if any realtor would be willing in person in these troubled times to go around the city, to show us properties in reality. Obviously, Market standing , credibility turnaround time and knowledge played a significant role in our realtor choosing process. While googling, I looked up best realtors in Chicagoland area and that's where I came across McPherson Westhoff realty. Emailed them the next day and got a call back within hours from them asking about our selected areas/ expectations for our new home. They took down all the information and customized our property search results based on the criteria we set. Here is where Laura Duckett with Compass Realty was introduced to us for the first time to help us see some properties in which we were interested and we are glad we were. Laura struck me as an incredibly knowledgeable, patient, honest,helpful punctual ,diligent, passionate realtor who loves her job and who was one step ahead in her game of finding us the right property as per our requirements with a pleasing personality. She's serious about her work and humorous when the moment calls for it .She was reachable whenever needed and always inboxed newly listed or upcoming properties depending on the frequency we asked for. She scheduled showings of the properties , even from a third party website in a timely, meticulous manner with a proper printed travel map at a short notice. She totally respects her clients considerations, be it price, neighborhood, budget or you name it. We were always comfortable discussing anything and everything with her. To be honest, we became friends with her ,talking and looking over multiple properties and it gave us a sense of personal connection with her within a short span of time . We never felt rushed in, forced into buying anything or any unsolicited advice by her. She would drive with us to multiple properties in a single day all around Chicago and would give suggestions of what needed attention in a potential property, looked closely at the mechanicals, foundation, walls, flooring, ceiling appliances and materials. She was on top of answering any questions we had, and if she wouldn't know the answer right away she would make an extra effort to find them out by the end of the day to text later. I remember her sending texts even during the late night hours about a ghost query I had.It wouldn't be an exaggeration if I could say she not only won our trust, she won our hearts!! Well, after we decided on buying our current home, Laura made the whole process of negotiating, comparing the comps, putting in the offer, inspection, hiring a real estate attorney, getting a lender at a cheaper rate super quick and super smooth. She kept everyone in the loop while we went through closing with a 100% transparency. Unfortunately, Laura couldn't be present because of social distancing restrictions during our closing during the pandemic so she asked us to have our picture taken outside the title company with her head shot and that's exactly what we did.lol. She, in turn, framed that same picture and gifted it to us at the time of handing over the keys to our new house. That was hilarious! Later when we became new homeowners she suggested a firm to help us with our moving, setting up internet and other utilities transferred into our names all of which went through like a breeze and for free!! Our home buying process couldn't be any easier than what Laura made it. I highly recommend Laura as one of the topmost real estate agent one can find for the Northwest/ western suburbs. Please call her for all your real estate needs, see her in action and I'm sure you'll be delighted you did because she's exceptional in what she does. We kinda sat back and relaxed while Laura did all the work for us .We appreciate it a lot all of what you did including the leaf blower which you gifted us with is in use every single weekend reminding us of you being by our side;) . Thank you Laura.

We had 2 very positive experiences working with Alejandro during the purchasing and selling of…read morehomes! We decided to move from our house and from day one Alejandro was super professional, but also down to earth and he really paid attention to what we were looking for. He always gave us the real deal, taught us a lot about the process, and how to better assess potential new homes for us. When it came to communication, Alejandro was always responsive and kind. After we found our future home, we decided to rent out our old house for a couple of years, and when we were ready to sell it, he was ready to help! If you have had the stressful experience of selling a house, you know that it's not an easy or smooth process, but with Alejandro, it could not have gone smoother. If you want a professional, kind, knowledgeable, real, and trustworthy realtor, look no further than Alejandro Trujillo at REMAX. Our next move will be down the road a bit...but you can bet we'll be calling him! -Kerry & Bob

Worst experience with Mike Opyd and Alejandro Trujillo of Re/Max Next. I think they are deceptive…read moreand unprofessional, at the least. My property was trespassed and back gate was broken. They were deceptive and I was set up with a VA buyer. I signed listing agreement in Feb, and was told not to list until April. They asked several times to bring contractors to my house. I refused and told I am not interested. They brought a VA buyer. I searched public information and social media; his last employment was ended six months ago per linked.in. Also they submitted "as is" contract although it is known VA require repairs. I raised concerns/discrepancies but Mike Opyd insisted he feels great about this buyer; he knows agent and the lawyer. After inspection, buyer's lawyer demanded seller repairs all items listed in the inspection report. Standard practice is lawyers correspond, not agents during attorney review period. However, Mike Opyd emailed me without my lawyer, that contractor came into my house (without knowledge), and I should spend $800 to their contractor. Lists include minor and petty issues like removing tree leaves from garage, removing plastics under kitchen sink. Most items were not even seller's responsibility per contract, not to mention it was "as is" contract. The most disturbing fact was contractors and Alejandro Trujillo couldn't enter my house because I locked front gate/back gate/front door/back door, and they did not have keys to enter. But they entered in the evening without my knowledge. After inspection was over, I went to the house and noticed back door was left unlocked. Therefore, I locked front gates (double-sided deadbolt) and back gate, and front door and back door (deadbolt and lock). Re/Max had only one deadbolt key without door lock key. Therefore, they couldn't have entered using the key. I asked Alejandro Alejandro Trujillo whether he jumped front iron gates that were locked with double sided deadbolts. He said he entered alley. He claimed back alley gate was open (Both Remax picture and inspection picture show back gate was locked with latch.) and he closed. Then how did he leave my house? Through front gate that he did not jump? Front gates have double sided deadbolt. So his story that he locked back gate and left is untrue. He did not want to enter by jumping front gate; so he wouldn't leave by jumping front gate. Front gates were locked with double sided deadbolt and Re/Max never had the key. My back gate latch was always locked. When I went back the house again, back gate was broken. This was right after contractors and Alejandro Trujillo supposedly entered without my permission. When real estate agents cancel they send cancellation form. They just informed they decided to cancel. Alejandro Trujillo claims my back gate was open; he locked my back gate; and left. Did contractors and Alejandro Trujillo leave my house by jumping front gate? According to their theory, someone opened my back gate just before they entered; and someone broke my back gate right after they left.

I had such a fabulous experience using Jolita Vilimiene as my realtor to purchase a home that I…read morealso used her to sell my a home. She is extremely professional and really understands the industry. She asked for my needs and never tried to lead me down another path. She made herself available anytime I needed her whether I wanted to view homes or had a million questions about the sale of my home. I would highly reccommend her if you are looking to buy or sell. She actually sold my home in one week in a very poor housing market. Jeanice Nelson a very satisfied customer

When it comes to service, I am as about picky as they come. My wife and I were anxious to move…read morefrom our one bedroom condo in Old Town to a home with ample space. After hearing positive feedback from friends we turned to a representative from MK Realty named Christine. Our search perameters were NOT easy since we wanted a Rolls Royce but only wanted to pay for a Honda. Christine is very outgoing, friendly, and full of energy! She played an extremely integral role in showing us quite a few homes that fit our criteria. As the search continued, I have no idea how Christine maintained her "cool" as I feel we would have pushed most realtors over the edge with our endless pursuit of perfection. Quite on the contrary, Christine had tremendous patience and treated our real estate deal as if she was seeking her own place. Once we found a place we liked, Christine handled the negotiation process better than I ever would have imagined. Especially in today's economy, I felt like we could play hardball on the price we were willing to pay. She played right along instead of trying to convince us to settle for a higher price in order to close the deal and earn commission quicker. All in all, an excellent experience and we plan on using Christine for our next move!! A++++++++

We were moving from out of state which made it that much harder to look at properties. My cousin…read morehad recently purchased a condo in Chicago and was really happy with their realtor, Christine Spelson. (Incidentally, they decided to work with Christine based on a recommendation from her fiance's coworker. All word of mouth, which is already a good sign.) Since we were out of state, my husband and I would initially look at properties online, then put together a list for Christine. We would drive the 5-6 hours from Michigan and spend 1 or 2 days looking, looking, and looking. We had properties we wanted to see ALL OVER the place, Woodstock, all around the Chain O' Lakes, and as far north as Winthrop Harbor. Christine really took the time to show us as many properties as we wanted to see, and provided some good realtor insight on each - the pros, the cons, some things we as buyers may not easily realize or recognize. I think she also tries to put herself in her clients' place as she looks at each place, and tries to see it from their perspective, from where they are in their lives (single and looking for a party pad, or new parents looking for a nice neighborhood their kids can grow up in, or a quiet couple looking for a quiet home, etc.). She has a great sense of humor, makes you feel at ease, does her homework and is on the ball. Some realtors are a bit behind the times and still not using the internet to its full potential. You won't have to worry about that with Christine. If you SMS, you never have to bug her for updates or wait for an email response that could take hours or days. She will send you up-to-the-minute info. I would definitely recommend Christine Spelson of MK Real Estate Group to everyone looking for a new home.

I saw a listing for a rental in Galewood. I saw the show unit, filled out application and was…read moreapproved. That was first week of February..I've submitted paperwork for 4 units and each time the rep calls and says the unit is rented. It is now May and they're saying submit for another unit. Thanks for spinning me around for 3 months.

Horrible and terrible place. The realtors here are extremely shady and will lie to you. Multiple…read morerealtors from this company promised me that I could live in a smoke-free home because I have severe asthma. They also said it's nice and quiet. Both are extremely false and now my health is damaged permanently. They have wasted thousands of dollars, time, money, not to mention that they are really rude. It is very evident that all they care about is money. Do not recommend.

Purchasing real estate when you are from out of town is a little scary. We were looking for a condo…read morein Chicago and I contacted Heather after reading several reviews. Well, it turned out perfectly. Heather was great to work with and she quickly understood our needs and within hours we were looking at listings. We narrowed down the listings and provided feedback to Heather, so she could send us additional properties to consider. After further refinement, we scheduled time with Heather to review the properties when we visited Chicago. Meeting Heather in person confirmed that we found the right person to help us with the purchase. Heather has an detailed understanding of the Chicago market and made sure we understood the pros and cons of each property. Heather was generous with her time and and fun to work with and when we settled on a property, Heather streamlined the process and we had an accepted offer in a day. Heather even helped in streamlining the mortgage and closing processes by introducing us to a Mortgage broker and an attorney, both of whom were great to work with. We closed in 4 weeks. Overall a great experience!

I contacted Heather about one of her agents, Craig Frazen, who was the listing agent of a house I…read morepurchased. Heather DID respond to my email, but was very defensive about her agent. I expressed some concerns about how the deal was made including the agent misrepresenting the square footage and condition of the house. Apparently there is no agreed upon standard for square footage and it's not the listing agent job to carefully check the size or condition of the property. Knowing this is the biggest purchase of someone's life the whole laissez-faire attitude leaves something to be desired. Sure, it's buyer beware, but when/how to ethicals come into play? We didn't have that conversation because she was too busy cheering for Craig! In Heather's own words "shit happens" and that about summarizes her objectivity about one of her agents and the real estate market in general. The seller's 100 percent mis-represented the house and Heather's point was that's not Craig's fault, but being rather careless about how he advertised the property left me wondering how the transaction could have been better. Heather was too busy defending Craig to actually consider that. And because of that I would not use either one of them for my next real estate transaction.